The Formula One calendar giving the Indian Grand Prix a miss in 2014 came as a rude shock to the motorsports loving community in the country. Though it is expected to return in March 2015, there are doubts in the minds of the people associated with it as the government has been showing reluctance in supporting the event.
On Saturday, Sahara Force India team principal Vijay Mallya appealed to the government to adopt a friendlier approach towards the sport.
“I will appeal to the government to see what goes on in other parts of the world where local governments actually support Formula One. But in India it is going to be very difficult to persuade the government because of the unique nature of the country and its problems,” Mallya told reporters here, adding, that the government should encourage the corporates when they are coming ahead and hosting such events.
“The government should not interfere or become an obstacle. The government should be a facilitator. If private enterprise is taking the responsibility of hosting Formula One event, the government should encourage it.
“The benefits of bringing Formula One to any country, including India are enormous. It provides visibility, exposure which translates into tourism,” the liquor baron added.
What Mallya and promoters of the race, the Jaypee group, might find discouraging is that the Uttar Pradesh government considers F1 race as an entertainment and not a sport, which means huge taxes are levied on the event. If the Indian government recognises Formula One as a sport, the event gets tax and duty exemptions. But the government requires drivers, teams, the Formula One Management and the local promoter, Jaypee to pay local taxes for hosting the race.
If that is not enough, the F1 teams require extensive paperwork to bring in their cars and other racing technology into the country.
Meanwhile, Mallya believes that India might have found a world class F1 driver in Jehan Daruwala, a British KF3 karting champion. “I think we have found an Indian who we can all be proud of and who certainly has all the talent and making of a top class Formula One driver in due course of time,” Mallya told reporters with the 15-year-old by his side.
“Ever since I put an Indian team on the Formula One grid, I have been constantly bombarded with questions — when we’d have an Indian driver in the cockpit of our car. I said three years ago that we would find a driver with potential to be a top class Formula One driver here in our country,” Mallya added about the young champion who is a Force India academy driver.
“He still has a long way to go, but he’s going in the right direction. We need to nurture him along,” he said.